And the day started so well ... a beautiful, crisp morning, clear blue sky, and a lovely 20-mile blast to work in the B. It was only the second time this year that she's been out. Was that just the teensiest bit of a misfire as I pulled into the car park at work?

Ten hours later, I set off home through the heavy Friday evening traffic. I'd only gone half a mile when she started to hesitate, shudder, shake, pop and bang, and slowed to a crawl. By now I'm holding up the traffic big-time, so I pulled over, switched her off, waited a few minutes, and restarted. Bingo - she roared into life, so I set off again. A mile or so down the road, same thing happened again. And again. So I parked up until the rush-hour traffic eased off, and pondered whether to call the breakdown service, or to risk trying to nurse her home in instalments. In the end I did the latter - and got home surprisingly quickly, by coasting on the downhill bits with the engine switched off, and then firing her up again for the uphill bits (we do have those in East Anglia). By the time I got home, she would barely run for a minute or two after re-starting before conking out.

So, what do you guys reckon is up with her? No warning lights, no obvious physical signs of malady, she just runs fine for a few minutes, then steadily loses power until she grinds to a halt.

My first thought was a knackered fuel pump / blocked fuel filter, but is there anything else I should consider? I'm hard pressed to think what else would cause her to run fine one minute and conk out the next. One of the sensors, perhaps? But which, and why?

All suggestions greatly appreciated!

Start with the basics - is there oil and coolant in the engine? Did it overheat when the symptoms started?
The way you described it sounds like an engine that's not getting enough fuel.
Check that you have petrol in your tank and the fuel gauge float is not sticking - that can happen easily when the car sits for a long time. If you are sure that there's enough petrol, you might have a problem with the fuel pump or filter.

Yes, oil and coolant are both fine. No sign of overheating. Fresh fuel yesterday morning, after the winter lay-off, and she's done 100 miles since then with no problems until this afternoon.

I found this thread from a few years ago - car's the same vintage as mine ('98 - so no fuel filter in the wheel arch).
https://www.fiatforum.com/barchetta/417120-stalling-engine.html

Isn't it frustrating when people post requests for help, and then never bother to update us on what the problem actually was, and how they solved it?!

Gareth I would be looking at the air mas meter and the the wiring connectors also the air speed control valve first, could be just corrosion on the terminals perhaps. But as previous post check for fuel delivery.
Good luck.

Hi,
if it'll restart and run fine from cold / after a "rest", then it's NOT major mechanical failure,
the lack of any warning lights to me means;

either fuel supply ; change / backflush / the filter

or the possibility of the crank angle sensor playing up.. they tend to be temp. dependant, and do NOT leave a fault / error code..,

I'd do the fuel 1st though..,

do let us know what you find,
Charlie

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions. I'm baffled as to why the simple act of turning it off and restarting should provide a temporary cure, until it grinds to a halt again.

gar074 said:

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions. I'm baffled as to why the simple act of turning it off and restarting should provide a temporary cure, until it grinds to a halt again.

Click to expand...

my experience of a failing pump( ancient panda cam-driven mechanical pump)

mean it would just stutter and die at speed,
NOTHING there as you tried to resurrect it on the decent..even bumping it in 2nd gear.

but - once stationary - it'd fire-up fine for another 5 to 10 minute stint..

:idea:
"vapour lock" - the fuel tank isn't "breathing" and you're reaching a point where it's essentially under vacuum , and the fuel pump can't Suck that hard..,

if you have the issue after the filter change,
remove the fuel filler cap , and see if it'll run better with it removed.

Charlie

Tried removing the fuel cap last night (got the hint about that quick fix off the Internet, while I was parked up in the lay-by) - it made no difference, unfortunately.

Sounds like the distributor to me...
What do you mean it hasn't got one, it's a petrol engine.
What do you mean 'fuel injection'?
Good grief, is THAT how they work? I really must open the bonnet some time...

Crachat said:

Good grief, is THAT how they work? I really must open the bonnet some time...

Click to expand...

I know what you mean! It's been so well behaved up to know that I haven't needed to worry about anything more than routine servicing. I now need to get much better acquainted with the oily bits.

I think the missus is concerned that it will end up like various other bits of broken machinery over the years (mowers, chainsaws, brushcutters, you name it), i.e. in bits on the floor of the barn, until I concede that either (a) I can't fix it; (b) I can't remember how to put it back together again; (c) some crucial, irreplaceable part has gone missing; or (d) all 3 of the above.

varesecrazy said:

Hi,
if it'll restart and run fine from cold / after a "rest", then it's NOT major mechanical failure,
the lack of any warning lights to me means;

either fuel supply ; change / backflush / the filter

or the possibility of the crank angle sensor playing up.. they tend to be temp. dependant, and do NOT leave a fault / error code..,

I'd do the fuel 1st though..,

do let us know what you find,
Charlie

Click to expand...

Sounds like you got the fuel side covered i.e. fresh fuel etc. Wont be "vapour lock" as modern systems don't suffer from this, A blocked filter has got to be rare unless you've filled up at a really dodgy petrol station and surely the engine would at least run at low revs.
I cant help further but maybe the crank sensor suggestion could be the fault.

This happened to me a month ago.
Longish lay off - first time start, then loss of power.
Seems like my Cat broke. as evidenced by the ceramics that popped loudly out of the back when turning over to try and start it.
Removed the cat and now its fine!?

sidthemaddog said:

This happened to me a month ago.
Longish lay off - first time start, then loss of power.
Seems like my Cat broke. as evidenced by the ceramics that popped loudly out of the back when turning over to try and start it.
Removed the cat and now its fine!?

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good reason to drive it all year round then,none of this laid up for winter stuff.

I'm sticking c3000 miles on mine between May 14 to 26th...:yum:.

sidthemaddog said:

This happened to me a month ago.
Longish lay off - first time start, then loss of power.
Seems like my Cat broke. as evidenced by the ceramics that popped loudly out of the back when turning over to try and start it.
Removed the cat and now its fine!?

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of that one - although it wouldn't fit with the on/off nature of the problem I've got.

Finally got around to looking at my ailing B yesterday.

It still starts fine, revs lustily and smoothly for a few minutes, before steadily getting lumpy and finally coughing to a stop. Air supply looks OK - the filter could do with a change, but it started, ran and croaked on cue with the air filter removed, so it's not that. So I removed the rear bullhead to get at the fuel pump, which sounds OK - no uneven running or other sounds of distress, even as the engine died.

Next step is to remove the pump (mine is a '98 with no external filter) and check it internally for crud etc. Before I do that, is there any way I can check whether the pump's working OK before I remove it? And is the fuel pump gasket replaceable, or do I need to order in a new one.

i think you can allways remove the fuel line that feeds the fuel rack of the engine put it inside a plastic botle and turn the ignition on ( not turning the starter) puting the fuel pump to work, than you will see if the gas it's flowing satisfactory ...
for this it wood help a extra pair of hands at least to turn the ignition on ...
hope it helps